You would think, from the debate that has surrounded England's fallible displays in the first two weekends of the RBS Six Nations Championship, that Jonny Wilkinson represents the international past at fly half and Danny Cipriani the future. Would that it were so simple. This weekend's Guinness Premiership programme will show that it is anything but.

Apart from the individuals themselves, who appear for their respective clubs today and tomorrow, there are many others to consider in the midfield mix. Wilkinson's own colleague at Newcastle Falcons, Toby Flood, is in the process of becoming a very good inside centre even though fly half was his initial home; Charlie Hodgson's name has almost been erased, which, for a player with 29 caps, 259 England points and a Lions tour to his credit, is remarkable.

Hodgson continues to ply his trade for Sale Sharks and, tomorrow at the Madejski Stadium, two more are seeking their place in the limelight - Shane Geraghty for London Irish, who was with England in Rome last weekend in case injury removed Flood from contention, and Andy Goode, of Leicester, the leading goalkicker in the Premiership this season.

Indeed, some claim that Goode is the form fly half in the Premiership and that much of the credit for Leicester's challenge to Gloucester at the top of the table can be laid at his door. It is appropriate, therefore, that Geraghty should have re-emphasised his place in the mix at Welford Road, Goode's home ground, in the England Saxons team who beat Ireland in an A international at the start of this month.

At the same time the blond London Irishman, capped twice off the bench in last season's Six Nations, demonstrated his ability to play well at inside centre, where he appears tomorrow, and fly half. He moved across after a bruised shoulder forced yet another talented No10, Ryan Lamb, of Gloucester, off the field and organised the game so effectively that an experienced Ireland side were run off their feet after the interval.

“I spoke to Brian [Ashton, the England head coach] before the Saxons game about what I needed to do and he told me to have a good game on Friday,” Geraghty, 21, said. “I went out knowing the England coaches would be watching and the whole team went well.” The reward was a place in the senior squad that went to Rome a week later, even if it was only as cover, - and inclusion in the 31-man training squad announced yesterday.

It has not been an easy year since that startling long-range break against France at Twickenham last March that created a try for Mike Tindall. Geraghty strained his right hamstring in a Premiership game against Saracens later that month and the damage persisted until he saw a specialist, who used a metal hook to break up scar tissue in the leg - which sounds, and was, excruciatingly painful but eradicated the problem. Then he suffered a groin strain, returned for the win over Gloucester in October and promptly broke a bone in his left hand.

“It did make me appreciate how well things had gone for me last season,” Geraghty said. “But it's fair to say there's a few 10s about, all good players and all fighting for the [England] position. I'm enjoying playing at 12 at the moment but I can interchange between positions, there's not a lot of difference.

“When we trained together for the Saxons, Ryan [Lamb] and I were reading each other so well and it was unlucky for him that he had to go off in the match. The game opened up in the second half and we were able to play the rugby that suited us.”

That is also the rugby that Ashton would like to see the senior England side play, which they did in the first half against Wales but which has been lost in the midst of their second-half collapses against the Welsh and Italy.

The same could be said of London Irish, that when they express themselves they are a handful for any Premiership team. But they, like England, have not done so consistently. The return of Geraghty, and the reappearance among the replacements of Mike Catt after a seven-week absence, might prompt a display that promotes both the club and the ambitious individuals who play for them.